Seals are used in many applications to prevent or limit the flow of a gas or liquid from one side of the seal to another side of the seal. For example, seals are used in many areas within a gas turbine engine to seal the gas path of the engine. The performance of gas path seals affects engine component efficiency. For example, the loss of secondary flow into the gas path of a turbine engine has a negative effect on engine fuel burn, performance/efficiency, and component life. A metal w-seal or a non-metallic rope seal are typical seals used to seal or limit secondary flow between segmented or full-hoop turbine components. However, exposure to significant relative deflections between adjacent components and/or elevated temperatures can preclude the use of these types of seals or cause them to fail prematurely. Additionally, some small and controlled level of cooling and/or purge flow is often desired at gas-path seal cavities to prevent exceeding a desired operating temperature of the forward and/or aft end-walls of turbine components (e.g. blade outer air seal (BOAS) or vanes) and/or ingestion of hot gas-path air into secondary flow passages.
Improvements in seal design are therefore needed in the art.